Trapsmith (Dungeonscape)

[bogsnes]

There has been some talk about maybe starting up a 3.5 campaign here, so I naturally start thinking about a million different character concepts that could be fun. After spending a long time thinking about a lot of different Incarnate builds I noticed the Trapsmith prestige class. It looks fairly cool and unique, and considerin that my optimization skills probably are quite a bit better than all of the other people I know might be playing I'm thinking that it also could be a fairly decent choice power-wise, as it probably won't overpower the campaign on it's own.

The issue however is that after taking 3 levels of trapsmith you basically get most of the nice benefits from the class (except for the last 2 levels of spellcasting). So I'm wondering what other directions that could be possible to take the character to from there. I'm thinking that going trapsmith 3 -> spellcasting advancing PrC might be a nice start though I'm not sure exactly which one would fit best. Also, considering I'm already utilizing Craft(Trapmaking) I was thinking that maybe specializing in all sorts of craft skills could be fun (mostly thinking alchemy+poisonmaking as the other craft skills), especially considering that the Trapsmith has a fairly restrictive skill list compared to the amount of skillpoints it gets.

Things I have thought a bit about so far:
4 levels of swiftblade - Would give me the last 2 spellcasting levels of trapsmith plus quite a few nice benefits.
Chameleon - Could help more with the versatility of the character though I don't feel like it fits all that well with most of the other themes of the character.
Combat Trapsmith - Fits well with the theme, but seems fairly weak and doesn't really feel like it actually does much.
Sublime Chord - Probably the most powerful option, though doesn't seem all that fitting to the concept - That said, something like a bard 1/spellthief 4/trapsmith 3/spellcasting prc 2/sublime chord 10 with master spellthief sounds like a really powerful build in general.
1 level of master of masks for more mundane versatility could be cool (with all exotic weapons)
3 levels of umbral disciple for HiPS for scouting purposes and whatnot could potentially be nice, especially if going say factotum 3/incarnate 2 before trapsmith or somehting like that.
Telflammar shadowlord for shadowpounce given that trapsmith has dimension door might be an option, but I doubt the melee staying power of the build will be great even still.
Grabbind a level of binder pre level 5 with improved binding and then taking 2 levels of anima mage gives access to level 3 vestiges, similarly taking 2 levels of incarnate and some levels of soulcaster might be an option.
Maybe a level of exemplar for a +4 bonus to a crafting skill as well as being able to take 10 on various other skills could be nice.

Was wondering if any of you had other nice suggestions.

[noob]

You only need one level in sublime chord then you can use PRC who do + arcane casting to improve the divine chord CL because it is a valid class to choose to improve.

[bogsnes]

Sublime chord is basically the only of the options I considered that I discarded instantly because of a awful flavor to power level ratio (as in way more powerful than necessary and way less flavorful than most of the other options). That said, sure, just taking one level of sublime chord is probably a stronger build overall.

Started thinking about master thrower for more efficient throwing of alchemical items, but I don't really see a way to make the alchemical item's damage keep up after the first couple levels unless I'm missing something.

[daremetoidareyo]

Two levels of unseen seer can round off the class nicely. Silent spell is free and you can pick up any divination spell of up to third level. If you are like most people entering trapsmith, you can also add 1d6 to your sneak or skirmish.


Then 10 levels of sandshaper...

[bogsnes]

Unseen seer actually sounds really nice, though I'd have to alter my first 5 levels slightly to take advantage of the damage bonus (was planning on going factotum 3/incarnate 2) but it is definitely a really nice option. Might be an option to do factotum 1/incarnate 2/factotum+2/trapsmit 3/sneak attack class 1/unseen seer 2.

Sand shaper also seems awesome, though it does quickly run into the issue of not having anything to advance, and I can't really think of any caster classes that I could use (what PrCs are there that gives their own casting anyways? Won't get all 10 levels but X 5/trapsmith 3/unseen seer 2/prc that gives casting 1/sand shaper 9 could potentially be a fun option).

Maybe spellthief with the trickster variant might be an option (though since it doesn't give trapfinding it probably is better to just take one level of that class before PrCs I'm thinking).

[Troacctid]

Spellthief as the base has the advantage of boosting your Trapsmith caster level with Master Spellthief, which is pretty significant for spells like Dispel Magic and...well, a couple others, but mostly Dispel Magic.

I think there's a good case for using Psychic Rogue as the base. The Intelligence synergy is nice. You could do something like Psychic Rogue 5/Trapsmith 3/Cerebremancer 2/Elocater 7.

Bard 1/Spellthief 4/Trapsmith 3/Unseen Seer 2/Sublime Chord 2/Unseen Seer 8 seems like a pretty sweet build too.

[bogsnes]

Yeah Psychic rogue actually seems like a sweet idea, though I'm not sure if elocater actually is better than just getting some more psychic rogue levels as 7 levels of elocater requires 2 crappy feats and gives dubious benefits while losing a special ability, 2d6 SA and 2 manifester levels. But overall psyrogue definitely seems like one of the nicer classes for the first 5 levels.

EDIT: Also, this might seem like a dumb question, but given that I haven't had all that much play experience I don't really see the reason to why most people like dispel magic so much. Do most monster that you fight on a regular basis have enough buffs that you are able to dispel? Because it seems to me that most CC spells could do as much if not more, though again I don't have all that much actual experience with gameplay at the table.

[Troacctid]

Dispel Magic has loads of utility. It's valuable in a wide variety of situations. It can strip away an enemy caster's buffs, sure, but it can also destroy any persistent magical effects you happen to come across, suppress the effects of magic items, and shut down enemy spellcasting through counterspelling. Between all its different modes, there should be no shortage of opportunities for it to shine.

[bogsnes]

Started thinking about the option of going for some shadowpouncing to have a combat activity to be doing at higher levels. Something like X 5/Trapsmith 3/Swiftblade 3/Telflammar Shadowlord 4/Swiftblade +4 maybe.

That got me to start thinking about what classes are the most efficient at getting the feats and sneak attack efficiently without wasting too many levels, because spending 3 feats on dodge, mobility and blind-fight seems a bit sad (though if dipping incarnate I could use midnight dodge and at least get a point of essentia out of the deal I suppose).